Making the Most of Each Day

Most of us have, likely, at one time or another, entertained the thought of how a day might be lived if we knew it was our last day on earth. Would it be spent quietly with friends and family? Or would it be used to do something adventurous and daring? Traveling? Reading? How could one possibly choose?

It's a safe bet most of us wouldn't go to work or school or attend to the often mundane tasks which consume many hours of each day. (I might update my status on Facebook, but I probably wouldn't check out everyone else's posts....sorry.) After some pondering, the question then usually becomes: If we would do things differently, then why aren't we living each day, right now, as if it is our last?

Of course, the answer is, for most of us, today is not our last day, and if it is, few of us know it. We will wake up tomorrow with bills to pay and a number of other practical pursuits demanding our attention. Few of us have the luxury of complete freedom to do as we wish.

One afternoon last week, as I drove to do some work-related errands, I contemplated what else I might prefer to be doing. After ruling out the impossible -- starring in a show on Broadway or living on a remote island somewhere in the northern hemisphere -- I decided what I do on a day-to-day basis is perfectly fine. I have part-time, low-stress jobs I enjoy, and I work with people I like. I am grateful I am able to freely seek God's kingdom and offer some small measures of service and help to others along the way.

Whenever my last day does arrive, I vow to have no regrets. I won't regret what I've done, even though I have made mistakes and missed opportunities to do what is best. Neither will I regret what I have not been able to accomplish, even though there is always something else to achieve.

Ultimately, when we think of living each day to its fullest, it is, perhaps, not what we do which matters most, but it is how we go about doing it: sharing love, joy, kindness and treating others as we wish to be treated. I won't spend my life longing to be somewhere else or doing something grand by the world's standards. I want to appreciate right where I am and what I have, and I believe that's how to make the most of each day.